1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical noise-reducing assembly for reducing electrical noise in an electrical conductor, to an electrical noise-reducing member for use in such an assembly and to an electrical connector including the electrical noise-reducing member.
2. Description of Related Art
In a known electrical connector, to reduce high-frequency noise signals, such as xe2x80x9cspikesxe2x80x9d, transmitted in a conductive element (e.g. a terminal fitting or an electrical wire), the conductive element is inserted into a cylinder of ferromagnetic material which absorbs the noise signal. A connector having such a construction is disclosed in EP-A-969568. As shown in present FIG. 4, this known connector 1 has a housing 2 made of synthetic resin and a cylindrical body of magnetic material 3 integrated with the housing 2 at the rear portion thereof by insert molding. A plurality of L-shaped terminal fittings 4 are mounted on the housing 2, with the rear portion of each terminal fitting 4 inserted into a through-hole 3A of the magnetic material 3 and extending from the rear of the housing 2. The body of magnetic material 3 acts as the noise-reducing member.
However, because the housing 2 and the magnetic material 3 are formed by insert molding, a complicated molding die is needed for the housing 2 and the magnetic material 3. Thus, the manufacturing cost of the connector 1 is high.
Alternatively, the body of magnetic material may be installed on the housing after molding, an elastically deformable lance for locking the body to the housing being formed integrally with the housing by one-piece molding. However, a complicated molding die for the connector and the lance is also needed, and thus the manufacturing cost of the connector is high.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a noise-reducing member which can be relatively easily installed on a conductive element.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides an electrical noise-reducing assembly comprising:
(i) at least one elongate electrical conductor; and
(ii) an electrical noise-reducing member carried on the electrical conductor and comprising a body of magnetic material having at least one through-hole, through which the electrical conductor extends, and an elastically deformable member fixed in the through-hole and elastically gripping the electrical conductor therein so as to hold the body of magnetic material in position on the electrical conductor.
Preferably the elastically deformable member is of rubber.
The noise-reducing member is elastically secured to the conductor by inserting the conductor element into the through-hole of the elastically deformable member. Thus, noise-reducing material can be installed on the conductor by a simple operation, and a complicated construction can be avoided.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides an electrical noise-reducing member comprising concentric inner and outer cylindrical portions secured together, wherein the outer cylindrical portion is of electrical noise-reducing magnetic material, and the inner cylindrical portion is of elastically deformable material and has a longitudinal through-hole for elastically securing it to an elongate electrical conductor which, in use, is inserted into the through-hole so that electrical noise in said electrical conductor is reduced.
In a third aspect, the invention provides an electrical connector comprising an electrical terminal and an electrical noise-reducing member carried on the terminal;
the electrical noise-reducing member comprising inner and outer portions secured together, wherein the outer portion is of electrical noise-reducing magnetic material and surrounds the inner portion, and the inner portion is of elastically deformable material and has a longitudinal through-hole;
the electrical terminal being received in the through-hole to elastically secure the electrical noise-reducing member to the electrical terminal.
Preferably the body of magnetic material and the electrically deformable member are cylindrical, e.g. circularly cylindrical. Here, the word xe2x80x9ccylindricalxe2x80x9d is used in its proper broad sense, including not only circularly cylindrical bodies but also other cylindrical shapes, e.g. a square cylinder.
The electrical noise-reducing member may be carried on a single electrical conductor or a plurality of electrical conductors, as described below.